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A common motif for wizards is to have a staff or other item that focuses their magic, increasing its effectiveness. I've come up with two variations.

The factors I've weighed are:

A number of characters have Arcanis, but no focus. Therefore, I rationalized that using a Focus is an advanced skill for adepts of the art. The requirements depend on which variation is considered, but generally require at least two of either Battlemaster, Spellmaster, or Elementalist.

The major effect of this gift is to increase the effectiveness of spells. Depending on the variation, this is either through an a-2 bonus, or a bonus-token powerbit. Obviously, an a-2 bonus is very powerful. But the way the prerequisites are written, it requires 75 pts in Arcanis gifts (including BLD-PA), and at least 24 pts in stats (5/5/5/5), or a total of 99 points. Thus, in a way it compensates for the lack of high stats by Arcanis adepts who have spent many points in gifts. The token variant has a lower required cost, by 10-25 pts, either due to lack of battle gifts, or by taking less commands or terms.

A secondary effect is to increase the RP applicability of ARC-RT.

The rest is largely color effects.

Because of the already expensive cost of Arcanis, I've tried to justify having either variation cost 5 points, but that might be an issue, given the abilities.

The idea is to consider this a template, much like ITM-DB (Dragonblades). I considered an equivalent to the abilities of dragonblades, but I think that would have pushed it. However, perhaps instead of making this a war-gift, some element-based effect might be chosen instead.

Here are the two variations:

Bonus Variation

An Arcanis adept is able to use a magical focus, crafted through a combination of Alchemy and Arcanis. The focus may take many forms, though all must be obviously carried, and when utilized, are obviously tied to the spell-casting (e.g., glowing, emitting a sound, etc.) in a mundane way. The adept becomes somewhat dependent on the focus, his powers increasing with it, but decreasing without it.

If separated from the focus, an Adept will know the general direction and distance to it.

A focus is a considerable item of power, and is resistant to breakage by mundane means. Great force or arcane means must be brought to bear to accomplish this.

A focus, if made of a controllable element (earth, air, fire, or water), may be granted some minor color effects. For example, an stone staff may balance itself in an upright position, one made of water may be collapsed to a sphere, etc.

"Normal" spells take less effort to cast. The difference is mostly a color effect, and only becoming relevant after extreme extended use. If a mage loses his focus, or tries to cast without it, however, the effort is much greater (which is also just a color effect)

At the cost of extra effort (though this is also just color), an adept may achieve an enhanced effect, receiving an extra bonus. While its primary target is still a single "significant" character, it may affect a wider area than normal, and such effects on nearby "minor" characters or property may be negotiated, particularly if no "significant" character is the target.

With Arcanis Ritual, an adept may prepare a ritual and store it within the focus. This allows the adept to cast the ritual in battlefield situations (though it is not instant), and thus may negotiate its applicability in RP or on the flagpole. However, such usage is dependent on prior preparation, or at least sufficient undisturbed time (no combat, no travel) in order to store the ritual. Therefore, the use of such an ARC-RT token should be inspected to ensure that its creation meets this requirement.

Token Variation

An Arcanis adept is able to use a magical focus, crafted through a combination of Alchemy and Arcanis. The focus may take many forms, though all must be obviously carried, and when utilized, are obviously tied to the spell-casting (e.g., glowing, emitting a sound, etc.) in a mundane way. The adept becomes somewhat dependent on the focus, his powers increasing with it, but decreasing without it.

If separated from the focus, an Adept will know the general direction and distance to it.

A focus is a considerable item of power, and is resistant to breakage by mundane means. Great force or arcane means must be brought to bear to accomplish this.

A focus, if made of a controllable element (earth, air, fire, or water), may be granted some minor color effects. For example, an stone staff may balance itself in an upright position, one made of water may be collapsed to a sphere, etc.

"Normal" spells take less effort to cast. The difference is mostly a color effect, and only becoming relevant after extreme extended use. If a mage loses his focus, or tries to cast without it, however, the effort is much greater (which is also just a color effect)

At the cost of extra effort, an adept may achieve an enhanced effect — maybe twice the normal for just color effects. In combat, "squad-level" area effects may be negotiated, but this is still just color — its target is still a single "significant" character. However, it may affect a wider area than normal, and such effects on nearby "minor" characters or property may be negotiated, particularly if no "significant" character is the target.

With Arcanis Ritual, an adept may prepare a ritual and store it within the focus. This allows the adept to cast the ritual in battlefield situations (though it is not instant), and thus may negotiate its applicability in RP or on the flagpole. However, such usage is dependent on prior preparation, or at least sufficient undisturbed time (no combat, no travel) in order to store the ritual. Therefore, the use of such an ARC-RT token should be inspected to ensure that its creation meets this requirement.

At the cost of extreme effort, or prior preparation, an adept may concentrate an extended effect into one, concentrated spell. This is represented by a 3-focus token that may be consumed for a bonus. The target must be primarily a single individual, though effects on minor characters and/or color in the immediate vicinity may be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.